Friend in Need
by TheNightFury
Summary: As The Piston Peak Air Attack team battled the fires, Dustys friends back in Propwash Junction could only wait and hope their friend would be OK. The five days of waiting had to be the longest days of Skippers life Spoilers for Planes Fire and Rescue.


**A/N**

**So a few weeks ago I posted a Planes fic from Blades point of view and since people seemed pretty interested I decided to post the fic from Skippers POV.**

Skipper wasn't sure how much longer he would be around if Dusty kept putting himself in danger like this. First in the Wings around the Globe rally and now he was trapped in Piston Peak as it burned. The Park had been evacuated earlier that day because of a massive fire, and though the fire was supposedly out Dusty hadn't contacted them yet, worrying Skipper and his friends.

Everyone in town was talking about the fires and how Dusty was their courageously fighting alongside the Piston Peak attack team. Though Skipper was proud of him, he would have liked to have heard from him, he always seemed to be getting into trouble when he was alone.

"I wonder why Dusty hasn't called," Dottie muttered as she drove around the shop putting things up before taking them down and moving them somewhere else. Skipper didn't any benefit in Dottie completely rearranging her shop but decided not to say anything about it.

"He's probably still busy from the fires," Skipper said, trying to sound assuring. Judging by the look Dottie was giving him, Skipper knew she didn't believe him, "We just need to be patient…"

Dottie sighed and took down her tool box, setting it on a lower shelf before frowning and picking it up again making Skipper wonder how many customers besides Dusty Dottie usually had. Skipper was considering calling Dusty when Mayday rolled in saying,

"Skipper… Blade called and wants to speak to all of us…" Fear laced through his words.

"Does he want to talk about Dusty?" Chug excitedly asked, oblivious to Maydays concern.

"Apparently…" Mayday reluctantly began only to abruptly cut off, "We should just go and see what he wants…" Mayday led them over to the radio Blade called on and seeing Mayday didn't want to answer Skipper decided to do it for him,

"This is Skipper…"

"And I'm Chug and this is Dottie and Sparky!" Chug excitedly added.

"What's the news Blade?" Mayday asked looking extremely concerned.

The other end was silent for a few seconds before Blade slowly began "As you've probably heard, we've had quite a few fires up here. Though at first we had it under control unfavorable conditions caused the fire to spread out of control forcing us to evacuate the park. A couple of RV's where stranded on the far side of the park though and Dusty being the fastest plane offered to go and help them. I soon joined him and we were able to save them but in order to save them Dusty had to push his engine into the red and as we were heading back to base-"

"His gear box!" Dottie gasped.

"Yes… it failed and he crashed…" Blade sighed sounding guilty. Blades words echoed through Skippers mind. Everything suddenly went cold and Skipper found he couldn't even speak. Dusty crashed, his gear box was dead, he would never fly again…

"Is he gonna be ok?" Chug asked.

"We'll do our best," Blade assured but Skipper wasn't sure if he could believe him.

"How could you force him to push his engine so hard?" Dottie demanded, rage evident in her voice.

"He knew the risks when he went in. If you knew how dangerous it was why did you let him go off with a bad gear box?" Blade snapped, sounding angry. What right did he have to be angry at them? Dusty obviously told them about his gear box… Skipper thought about how stubborn Dusty could be at times and wondered how much Dusty would have told them.

"They don't make it anymore!" Dottie shouted, "They don't make most of his parts anymore they've been discontinued! We have searched all over the country for it but haven't found anything!" Blade was silent for a minute making Skipper wonder if Dusty had ever told them his gear box was damaged.

"Look, I promise we will do everything we can to get Dusty back in the air. We'll keep you posted." With that Blade ended which only made Dottie angrier

"How could he blame _us_ for what happened to Dusty? They were the ones who pushed him to hard!"

"How… when did Dusty's gear box go bad?" Mayday asked, guilt laced through his words.

"We found out the day of the fire…" Skipper explained, causing a look of horror to pass over Maydays face.

"I…he never…he never told me…"Mayday whispered.

"Dusty never told you?" Dottie asked, clearly surprised.

"No…" Mayday mumbled, looking away guiltily.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he never told anyone to be honest," Skipper admitted. Dusty was always trying to prove he was a racer. If everyone knew he had a bad gear box from flying to fast it would only undo all the work he'd done.

"Why would he do this to himself…" Dottie groaned.

"I wish I know," Skipper admitted.

* * *

As Skipper was heading back to his room, he noticed Mayday somberly heading back to the firehouse. Concerned about the old firefighter Skipper followed him.

"Mayday are you alright?" Skipper asked respectfully staying outside the firehouse. Mayday wouldn't look at him as he said,

"This is all my fault…" Mayday sighed, guild laced through his words.

"What do you mean?" Skipper asked, confused.

Weakly Mayday began, "I… if I was a better firefighter Dusty wouldn't have gone off to get certified and…" Mayday broke off, unable to continue.

"Dusty wouldn't blame you for what happened and if he could he would tell you so. He chose to become a firefighter on his own. He won't stand to hear anyone say otherwise."

"If I wasn't so old…" Mayday argued but Skipper cut him off.

"Listen Mayday, I know you're a great firefighter. Yes, you were out of shape. But with these new repairs you'll be even better than ever before. And when Dusty gets back I'm sure he'll be very excited to see the great work Dottie has done."

Reluctantly Mayday looked over at Skipper and argued, "But he won't be able to fly."

"That's not your fault," Skipper assured. "Dusty would never forgive himself if he heard you say that."

"You really think so?" Mayday asked, his words laced with hope.

Smiling Skipper assured, "I know it."

* * *

The next morning Skipper found Dottie arguing with Chug and Sparky about something.

"-any answers!" Dottie was saying.

"Well the crash only happened yesterday and there may still be some fires-" Sparky was saying but Dottie cut him off,

"He was able to call us yesterday! What's so difficult about giving us a little more information on what's going on?"

"How about I give them a call and see what I can find out?" Skipper suggested hoping it would calm Dottie down. Dottie huffed but didn't protest so Skipper quickly radioed Piston Peak hoping Blade wouldn't be too annoyed.

"Skipper to Piston Peak does anyone copy?"

"This is Patch. Who do you need to speak to?" Patch said.

"May I speak to Blade?" Skipper calmly asked.

"Let me get him," Patch told him, leaving Skipper to his thoughts for a few minutes.

"Any news on Dusty?" Skipper asked.

"I told you we'd contact you with any new information," Blade groaned.

"We are his friends and we are very concerned about him. Dottie is insisting on flying out herself to check on his repairs."

"He hasn't woken up yet. We just need a time to fix the damage," Blade assured.

"Even if your mechanic can fix the body damage, his gear box…" Skipper began.

"Look our mechanic is the best there is, if anyone can fix Dusty's gearbox it's him," Blade snapped.

"Do you realize how old and complex his gearbox is?" Skipped asked incredulously, "Our best mechanic can't build one an-"

"Your mechanic doesn't have to repurpose everything they use now does she?" Blade sharply asked, "If it can be done we will figure out how to do it."

* * *

Skipper soberly went out to tell Dottie and Chug the news but instead found a large gathering waiting outside for him it seemed. News must have spread much faster than Skipper thought on Dusty's crash.

"Any news?" Dottie asked from the front followed by most of the town trying to ask questions about Dusty.

"Quiet everyone!" Skipper snapped silencing the crowd. "Dusty is still in bad shape. His gearbox was badly damaged in the crash but Piston Peaks mechanic will do his best to repair it. In the meantime w-"

"But if he doesn't have a gearbox he can't fly!" A plane from the back row shouted.

"Yes we all know that bu-" Skipper began but was once again cut off by a different plane,

"If he can't fly how will he get certified?"

"What happens if he doesn't get certified?"

"The airport can't open idiot!"

"But without the airport we can't have the corn festival!"

"How will the town survive without the airport?"

"Quiet!" Skipper shouted angrily. How could they be more concerned about their stupid corn festival than Dusty's safety? "Right now my main concern is making sure Dusty is ok. Anything besides that is second priority right now." Most of the crowd looked ashamed, but a few planes still had something to say.

"You're really going to put one plane above the entire town?" One plane snapped.

"This town survived before Dusty was famous, it can do it again," Skipper assured.

"We still had an airport though," the plane continued.

"What's your name son?" Skipper growled getting frustrated with the plane.

"Dan," Dan snapped, glaring at Skipper.

"Well _Dan_," Skipper began, "Why should all the towns' problems rest on Dusty's wings? Yes, he's a racer but that doesn't mean the towns fate should be his burden. Dusty was the only one willing to become a flyer fighter. If you're really that concerned about the airport why don't _you_ go and get certified?" Dan didn't have an answer to that so instead he huffed and rolled off, much to Skippers satisfaction causing most of the crowd to dissipate as well. Soon Skipper was left with Mayday, Chug, Dottie, Sparky and surprisingly Lead Bottom.

"You know, you only have yourself to blame," Lead Bottom said surprising Skipper.

"What are you talking about?" Skipper asked, confused.

"If you hadn't filled his head with the idea that he could be a racer or a firefighter none of this would have happened!"

"I didn't 'fill his head' he wanted to be a racer long before he ever spoke to me," Skipper informed him. "Dusty got into the Wings around the Globe Rally by himself with his own talents. I just coached him so he wouldn't get himself killed."

"If you hadn't coached him he would have given up on that stupid dream," Lead Bottom argued shocking Skipper.

"Dusty's dreams aren't stupid," Skipper scolded. "He wanted to be more than a Crop Duster so he worked and pushed himself and did it. Dusty is very talented a-"

"He was built to dust crops!" Lead Bottom snapped, "That's why he crashed right? He wasn't built for speed."

Skipper glared at Lead Bottom as he asked, "So what your saying is those of us who are built for a specific purpose don't get a choice in what we do for the rest of our lives but every other vehicle can?"

"It's why some of us are built that way," Lead Bottom agreed making Skipper sick. Didn't everyone deserve a say in what they had to do for the rest of their lives?

"Dusty made this choice on his own. Nothing any of us say will change that. We need to respect his choices and do what we can to help. Now if you'll excuse me I have important matters to attend to." Skipper said before leaving an angry Lead Bottom behind.

* * *

The next morning Skipper found Dottie, Sparky, and Chug in the shop not doing much, Dottie's anger having given way to worry about Dusty.

"I just… I can't believe he'll never fly again…" Dottie whispered pain laced through her words.

"How are they going to tell him?" Chug added, "Flying is everything to him…"

Skipper sighed uncertainly. Blade seemed to believe that they would be able to build a new gear box but if Dottie couldn't do it how could they? Their mechanic though seemed very accustomed to building things from scrap unlike Dottie so maybe…

"We can't say for certain that he won't be flying," Skipper interjected, trying to sound hopeful. "Blade thinks his mechanic can fix it -"

"Fix it?" Dottie asked incredulously. "Dusty's gearbox failed Skipper! How can he possible fix it?"

"I don't know what this mechanic can do," Skipper admitted, "but he is Dusty's only chance to fly again." Dottie glared at the ground as Chug and Sparky looked uncertainly at each other.

"If only we'd been able to find the gearbox…" Chug mumbled guiltily.

"Now don't you start as well!" Skipper scolded. "Dusty knew what he was doing! You tried your best to get the gearbox, in the end Dusty knew the risk but he took it anyways. We should be proud of him, not demeaning the good he did by playing the blame game."

"I know…" Chug mumbled. "I'm afraid Dusty will never race again and… I don't want to see how heartbroken he'll be…"

"What will he do if he can't fly?" Sparky asked, voicing everyone's fears

"We just have to wait and see," Skipper told them, unsure what else he could say to comfort them. "I'll go call Blade and see if there is an update on Dusty," Skipper added, only getting defeated nods in return.

Skipper radioed them and was instantly greeted by Patch who calmly told them Blade would answer as soon he checked up on Dusty himself which made Skipper strangely happy. Blade seemed to actually care a lot about Dusty.

"This is Blade," Blade tiredly greeted.

"Is he any better?" Skipper asked, though from Blades tone he was sure he knew what the answer would be.

"He still hasn't woken up," Blade replied.

"You're telling me he's been out for three days?" Skipper asked incredulously. "How bad was this crash?" Skipper tried not to, but all he could think about was Dusty falling from the sky, engine burning beyond any chance of repair…

"The crash wasn't the problem," Blade explained. "His engine is in really bad shape."

"Look I know visitors technically still aren't allowed in the park but… is it at all possible for us to go out and see him?" Skipper asked a note of desperation in his voice. He knew it was a long shot to ask Blade to do this but he just had to at least see that Dusty wasn't dead because it was getting more and more difficult to take their word for it.

"Look, I am very sorry but with everything's that's happened even I can't get anyone into the park right now," Blade explained causing Skipper to sigh,

"I understand… just… please keep us posted." Before ending the call. Why did Dusty have to do this to them? Didn't he understand how concerned they were about him? There was something in Dusty that just would not let him leave someone who was in danger behind.

"How is he?" Mayday asked, startling Skipper out of his thoughts.

"He's still unconscious," Skipper admitted, seeing no reason to lie to the old firefighter. Mayday slumped in defeat and replied,

"I hoped he'd be awake…"

Smiling sympathetically Skipper agreed, "I think we all did."

"I just hope Dusty doesn't lose everything because of this…" Mayday added mournfully.

"He won't lose everything," Skipper sternly told him, "he'll always have us." Mayday reluctantly grinned up at Skipper and agreed,

"Yea, we'll always be there for him."

* * *

Skipper impatiently waited by the radio, hoping that someone from Piston Peak would radio them saying Dusty was awake and that somehow his gearbox was fully functional. He knew it was silly to think that could happen but Skipper couldn't imagine a world where Dusty was grounded. Dusty belonged in the air, soaring through the sky's, leaving every other plane behind.

Though Skipper would be happy to just have Dusty back, he desperately hoped Dusty would still fly as well. Unable to take the wait any longer, Skipper radioed Piston Peak, once again reaching Patch who didn't even bother to send for Blade. Skipper didn't have to wait every long though.

"This is Blade," Blade said tiredly, making Skipper fear the worst.

"Please tell me you have good news," Skipper pleaded, hoping Dusty was ok, somehow knowing he wasn't.

"I wish I did," Blade admitted.

"He's still out?" Skipper asked defeated.

"Maru is working on building a gear box for Dusty," Blade supplied, trying but failing to sound hopeful. How was that supposed to make him feel better though? They had spent weeks trying to find the gearbox with little success, why did Blade think they could just build one?

"I don't want to give anyone false hope… especially Dusty. I don't know if I can take telling him that he will never race _again_…" Skipper replied, desperately hoping that for once something would go Dusty's way. What did he do to deserve this? He was kind and caring and would do anything to help others. Why did this have to happen to him?

"Dusty will fly again, I know it." Blade mumbled before disconnecting the call.

* * *

Skipper didn't know what to do. Regardless of what Skipper and Mayday where telling her Dottie was ready to fly out to Piston Peak and demand to see Dusty , regardless of the consequences, and if Skipper where honest with himself he wasn't sure if he wanted to stop her.

Skipper knew the only reason he hadn't gone out there himself was Maydays confidence in Blade. Mayday firmly believed that Blade would do everything he could to help Dusty, and while his trust should have been enough for Skipper, it wasn't.

Dottie, Chug and Sparky soon rolled in, all looking dejected as they did so. It was torture waiting for any news on Dusty. Skipper cautiously looked over at the radio wondering if maybe Dusty… Skipper forced the thought out of his mind. If Dusty had woken up Blade would have called. That's what Skipper kept telling himself at least. Just as Skipper was considering calling himself, the radio crackled to life.

"Piston Peek to Skipper, do you copy?" Blade asked.

"I copy," Skipper quickly answered. "Any news?"

"Sorry to say you'll have to deal with a new firefighter in a few days," Blade informed them.

"Are you saying Dusty is certified?" Skipper asked unable to contain the grin that spread across his face.

"He woke up this morning. I'd say he deserves to be certified though," Blade added, causing Sparky, Chug and Dottie to start talking excitedly, all three desperately trying to be heard.

"Hold it!" Skipped shouted silencing the others, "What about his gear box?"

"Our mechanic built him one from scratch, better than new," Blade informed them much to Dotties surprised.

"How… that's amazing!" Dottie exclaimed in awe making Skipper chuckle slightly at Dotties star struck gaze. Skipper could already the endless questions Dottie wanted to ask the mystery mechanic who build a gearbox.

"Can we talk to him?" Chug asked excitedly.

"When he finally comes back down I'll tell him to call," Blade assured.

"Back down?" Dottie asked, deflating slightly.

"Dusty insisted on a test run right when he heard the news," Blade explained.

"How long will he be out?" Skipper politely asked, trying not to sound to disappointed. Dusty was awake, that's all that mattered.

"He didn't say. He'll have to come down though when he runs out of gas. Don't worry he didn't have a full tank so it should only be a couple of hours," Blade assured.

"Only a couple…" Dottie grumbled.

"That's fine," Skipper assured. "We'll wait a little longer." Skipper knew Dottie would give Dusty hell for what happened and would demand an explanation as to why he thought redlining it was a good idea, but that would all have to wait. Dusty was going to be ok though, the rest could wait.

**End Notes**

**I'm not as proud of this one as I was with Still I Fly but I hope you guys enjoyed it none the less. **


End file.
